Chapter 134
If you think about it, it’s truly a simple problem.
If they came to reclaim the princess, then all we have to do is return the princess.
If their goal is to rescue the crown princess of Hilderan—
Then we only need to release the crown princess of Hilderan.
“If you return to your kingdom, Hilderan will no longer have any reason to cling to my throat.”
Of course, there’s still the 13th princess, and shame has been inflicted, so the reason won’t disappear entirely.
But their momentum could be drastically broken.
To them, the 13th princess was a useless invalid; if they rescued the crown princess, they would not escalate matters further and instead watch the imperial Heroic Expedition and decide how to deal with things afterward.
In other words, at the very least, the worst-case scenario of fighting two nations at once could be avoided entirely.
If lucky, they could even exclude Hilderan altogether.
“···You’re saying you’ll send me back to the kingdom?”
“Yes. But I can’t just let you go, so using Hillen to make it look like a rescue···.”
Berze frowned. Something felt wrong.
Her eyes met Ernan’s. The ever-present cheerful curve in her eyes had vanished. The smile on her lips was gone too.
It was as if—
‘Just like when we first met···.’
She looked like Ernan Hilderan again. The expression she had while gazing at the moonlight from the 13th princess’s detached palace.
She had smiled brightly the moment she noticed Berze, but that didn’t mean this expression had vanished.
‘What is this?’
What’s the problem?
“Aren’t you happy to return to your kingdom?”
He couldn’t understand.
No matter how devotedly she had helped Berze while calling herself a Four Heavenly King, she was still human. A princess of the kingdom.
If she wasn’t going to die in the Tower, she would have to return someday.
“I became a Four Heavenly King to help you, Demon King. You asked me to.”
“I did.”
He hadn’t asked her to become a Four Heavenly King specifically. But he had asked her to create chaos for Acan Cargill on his behalf. Thanks to her, they had captured Acan Cargill far more easily.
“I persuaded Kaede, and I told you about the nobles’ secret vaults.”
“You did.”
“Even though I couldn’t prevent the Tower’s location from being leaked, I still helped with Daphner Philian’s···.”
“You helped kill him. I asked you for his death, and you carried it out perfectly. I am grateful.”
He had received countless small favors from her. At first, he never imagined he would rely on a kidnapped princess this much, but now she was an indispensable talent of the Tower.
“And yet you still want me to go back?”
“Yes.”
But that—
Was not enough reason to keep her from returning to Hilderan.
No matter how grateful he was to her, Berze’s priorities were always the Tower first and himself.
If he didn’t send Ernan back, she would die. But if he sent her, there was at least a path for her to live.
Therefore, the second option was the only choice.
“It’s also for your sake.”
And from the beginning, this was the best path for Ernan too.
Rather than sinking together within the Tower, it was better for her to return to the kingdom through a staged rescue and reclaim her original place.
“···I’ve heard people say it’s for my sake countless times in the kingdom. And not once was it truly for me alone.”
“You said there were things I promised you. That I would grant those requests.”
“There are, but···.”
“I’ll use them now. If one isn’t enough, then all the ones I’ve saved.”
She enunciated clearly.
“I.”
Each syllable emphasized.
“Will not go back.”
***
···What?
Why is it turning out like this?
The meeting had ended. Ernan escaped from the 5th floor and went down to the 4th, and Berze simply dissolved the meeting entirely.
It was an idea he came up with on the spur of the moment, but it was appropriate.
So he thought Ernan would accept it easily.
No matter how cooperative she had been, no matter how earnestly she acted as a Four Heavenly King, she was still human. A kingdom was naturally better for her than the Demon King’s Tower.
“Just ignoring her and sending her off··· won’t work, will it?”
“Obviously not.”
Ernan Hilderan was more deeply connected to this Tower than any human. If she held resentment and revealed all of the Tower’s secrets—
Berze’s future wouldn’t just turn dark—it would become pitch-black.
Those who once stood on your side and turn against you are always the most terrifying.
He had to persuade her somehow—make her return to the kingdom of her own free will.
“You really did keep the human princess too close.”“Can’t deny that. But without her help from the beginning, we never would’ve come this far. You were halfway considering her a member of the Tower yourself, weren’t you?”
“That’s true.”
No matter how hard he tried to act differently from before regression, countless things had tangled, and danger had struck many times.
Without Ernan, the situation would have been worse.
No—he might have already died.
“Even so… why would a human princess refuse to return to her own kingdom?”
Gordon couldn’t understand, not by any measure of common sense.
“Then her helping the Demon King and calling herself a Four Heavenly King makes sense to you?”
“···That too, I suppose not.”
“Come up with a good method. Advising and assisting the Demon King is a lieutenant’s job, isn’t it?”
“No matter how you say it, this is so far beyond common sense···.”
To Gordon, the princess Ernan Hilderan was someone he could never understand even if he lived with her for a lifetime.
“···Then let’s put Hilderan aside for now. What about Jespine? Even if the 3rd prince delays, he will eventually come. Is there a way to stop them?”
Hilderan wasn’t the only one aiming for the Tower.
“There is.”
“There is?”
“They are already fractured.”
1st prince, 2nd prince, 1st princess, and the 3rd prince.
The 3rd prince planned to use the imperial Heroic Expedition as part of the succession struggle.
It was proof of how arrogantly the Empire was underestimating Berze—but in a way, that worked out well.
“They’re a rabid state where royal siblings fire mana cannons at each other and assassinations are routine. In this matter too, they are more likely to bare their fangs at one another than at you, Demon King.”
“So we need to divide them further and make them fight each other.”
“Yes. Since the 3rd prince has allied with Your Majesty, the number of possibilities has increased. Although humans can never truly be trusted.”
“Understood.”
The 3rd prince was still a prince, and he prioritized the Empire.
“Contact the Golden Moon Merchant Guild. Tell them to send every bit of information they have about the Empire and the royal family—no matter how trivial. Anything we can use must be used to widen the rift.”
“Yes.”
“And the 3rd prince, I’ll personally—”
Knock, knock—
Someone tapped on the door. At Berze’s call, Elena peeked her head in.
“···Demon King. Could we talk for a moment?”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my sister.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
At Berze’s signal, Gordon returned to his office. Elena sat in the chair.
“Speak. Why does Ernan hate the idea of returning to the kingdom?”
He had seen hints before. But he never expected her to openly reject it.
Elena, who still couldn’t control her physical mana, had to stay in the Tower to avoid death. But Ernan was different.
“You know the magic called ‘Child of the World Tree,’ right?”
“I do.”
“That’s where it all begins.”
Elena continued.
***
The king of Hilderan is chasing the glory of the past.
The Hilderan that once stood as an empire, dominating the continent.
A single powerful individual can overturn an entire battlefield. Thus the king of Hilderan became obsessed with creating a stronger monarch.
Even if not himself, he wished for one of his children to subdue all and lead the kingdom’s revival.
So he carved the magic called ‘Child of the World Tree’ into his wife and children.
Countless mothers died. Countless infants died. But among the mountains of corpses, a single fruit still bloomed.
That fruit was Ernan Hilderan.
The king’s obsession—and the nobles’ obsession stemming from him—was inevitable.
If it were mere affection, that would have been much better.
To make the fruit born with great talent even sweeter, Hilderan devoted its entire strength.
From birth until now, not once did Ernan have anything like personal freedom.
Behind the child who summoned a mid-level spirit at a young age and possessed a radiant future, there was endless exploitation.
“And that exploitation wasn’t limited to my sister.”
The royals born under the Child of the World Tree magic were numerous. Though far more died, some survived.
Some became even more fragile due to side effects—yet some obtained power befitting the magic’s purpose.
Yes, Ernan was simply too overwhelming, so the others were overshadowed, but several royal children were still born with their own measure of strength.
And they, too, underwent a process similar to Ernan’s.
“But my sister’s talent was overwhelming.”
Naturally, their father’s favoritism was blatantly obvious.
“They treated my sister as…”
“They must have envied and resented her.”
“Yes.”
It was an obvious story. They underwent the same process, endured the same torment, yet only one continued to rise higher.
Receiving more praise, receiving more affection, endlessly compared by those above.
Of course, there was no way they would look at her kindly.
Thus Ernan Hilderan gradually became isolated in an atmosphere of envy and jealousy. And the foolish king didn’t care at all.
If he had been someone who treated his children like children to begin with, he never would’ve done something insane like the Child of the World Tree ritual.
“And you were the only one who approached her, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
So that’s why she stayed in the 13th princess’s detached palace?
Anyway—summarizing it all:
Ernan Hilderan was a human who—
From above, received immense expectations and obsession from the king and nobles,
And from below, received jealousy and resentment from her younger siblings and those associated with them.
A princess who was physically and mentally tormented nearly every day.
“I still don’t understand.”
“Which part, Your Majesty?”
“If weaklings envy and resent you, shouldn’t you just kill them all?”
“···Ah. For us humans, that’s a bit…”
“I know. It’s a joke.”
“···Huh?”
Elena blinked wide-eyed.
“So then it turns out the matter is simple.”
“Simple?”
“Yes.”
Berze nodded.
“If the king and nobles try to pressure and obsess over her, then she simply needs to stand in a position they cannot pressure.”
“And if her siblings envy and resent her, then she only needs to become someone they cannot even dare to envy.”
Elena tilted her head, unable to understand.
“···Does such a position exist?”
“There aren’t many. Only one per nation.”
“···No way.”
“Yes. That no way is correct.”
Make her someone no one would dare act arrogant toward.
Make Ernan Hilderan—
“Become the king, and everything resolves, does it not?”
“Uh···.”
‘A Four Heavenly King serving the Demon King… an elemental necromancer has come to claim the throne.’
Why?
Elena suddenly pictured her older sister wearing a mask and going to confront their father.
Surely something like that… surely it would never happen.
***
Ernan was crouched atop the mountain she had created, tossing a small pebble into the weak artificial stream.
— You said you’d return one day, didn’t you?
“I did.”
— Then why this? Is it because of the Demon King…?
“Aren’t you tired of asking?”
— So? You’re still human, you can’t live in the Demon King’s Tower forever.
— And as the crown princess, you must eventually return to your kingdom.
“I know. It’s not that I won’t ever go back.”
Yes—she would return someday.
She had said as much to Arein in the past, and it wasn’t a lie.
“I also know that part of this whole mess is my fault.”
If she had acted sooner, she could have prevented the Tower’s location from being leaked.
No—if she had known earlier, she would have done something about the Korzen Kingdom’s forces.
— So what is it?
“What is what?”
— There must be something. Some condition you think needs to be met before you return.
“···A king.”
— You already became a Four Heavenly King though.
“What nonsense are you spouting.”
— Was I wrong?
“Being a Four Heavenly King is great, obviously. But I mean a spirit.”
— ···A Spirit King?
— Your goal was to summon a Spirit King?
Ernan silently nodded.
“It’s every spirit summoner’s dream.”
— But that’s something that happens maybe once every thousand years.
— Though… for you, maybe not impossible. You’re twenty-four, right?
“Yes.”
She had already been able to summon Arein, a high-rank spirit, at age twenty-three.
That in itself was unprecedented.
Never before, and never again. A child who survived the ordeals of the Child of the World Tree ritual, born with overwhelming talent, then struck the obstacle of the mana-thin Demon King’s Tower—only to smash through it and grow explosively.
In this dimension of Arein, if anyone were to contract a Spirit King, it would undeniably be Ernan Hilderan.
Arein could guarantee it.
— So what were you going to do after summoning a Spirit King?
“I was going to destroy the kingdom.”
— ···What?
“Kidding. I just mean—once I reach that level, I won’t have to be bound by the kingdom anymore, right?”
Ernan smirked.
— But then… there’s no reason it has to be the Demon King’s Tower.
— I mean, it’d be a shame, no—a great shame, to miss your flirting with the Demon King, but…
“Wipe your mouth.”
— Mmh. Anyway, there’s no need to tie yourself to the Tower. Before, you couldn’t escape the palace, but now…
“You’re right. Before, that’s how it was.”
— But not now?
“Now… just a little.”
Maybe it was nonsensical, but she had grown attached to the Tower.
The dwarf hero obsessed with mana cannons and firepower.
The weird elf who visited occasionally.
The princess of the magical kingdom who made chimeras.
Her younger sister, slowly regaining her health and spirit.
The strict but dutiful dark elf.
And the Demon King—frightening, far from perfect, sometimes showing his vulnerabilities—the one who reached out to her when her world was bleakest.
She had begun to like it all.
Maybe because in the kingdom—inside the royal palace—she had never once experienced the joy of real human relationships.
She didn’t want to leave.
That was all. A place others called the lair of evil had become something meaningful to her.
If she had to oppose heroes and humans?
Why did that matter? Humans fought each other anyway. And her father ultimately wanted her to restore the Hilderan Empire—meaning a future stained with the blood of her own people was already predestined.
In that case, pretending to be insane while serving as a Four Heavenly King in the Demon King’s Tower was a hundred times better.
“Especially the Demon King is…”
“Me?”
“···When did you get here?”
Ernan abruptly shut her mouth. At some point, Berze was calmly sitting beside her.
“When you attend the Demon King Academy, the first thing they teach you—perfectly—is stealth.”
“To kidnap me, right?”
“You’re royalty, so technically that isn’t wrong.”
Berze sat casually at her side.
“You are human.”
“But I’m a Four Heavenly King.”
“You’re not even my subordinate.”
“Do I need more proof?”
“No amount of proof is ever enough.”
“You really want me to return to Hilderan that badly?”
She met his eyes—her expression surprisingly firm.
“If you don’t go, the Tower collapses. I don’t yet have the power to stop them.”
“···I’m here.”
“If there were hundreds of you, maybe. But with one, it’s impossible.”
“Even if I go, there’s no guarantee Hilderan will back down. You stepped on their pride, Demon King.”
“That’s what you’re supposed to prevent.”
“You’ll expel me from the Tower, suspend me from being a Four Heavenly King, and still put that responsibility on me?”
“Who said I would suspend you?”
“······.”
“You’re already a member of the Tower. That will not change no matter where you go. And the Four Heavenly Kings are the same. Once a Four Heavenly King, always a Four Heavenly King.”
“Really?”
“Did you think I would remove you? It was something you created in the first place.”
“You don’t like that sort of thing. I thought you’d get rid of it the moment I disappeared.”
“······.”
He couldn’t deny it. He had thought of doing exactly that once.
But not now.
“The Demon King I know wouldn’t say something so cringe without a good reason. If you said it, you must have one. You heard all of our conversation, right?”
“I did.”
“Even the part about the Spirit King?”
“I won’t deny it.”
“Does that matter to you?”
“It matters a great deal.”
“You’re incredibly honest.”
That was very much like him. Ernan let out a short laugh.
Berze calmly took out a necklace.
“What is that?”
“A communication necklace.”
He had told Logar to prepare these for any elves who would leave the Tower on missions.
“If things get difficult after you return, you can come back. Anytime—you will be welcomed.”
“Don’t you think that’s a strange thing for a Demon King to say to a princess?”
“Among all the humans I’ve ever met, none were stranger than you. A kingdom ruled by such a human should be amusing.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve heard enough of the story. There’s a simple way to solve all of it. Become the queen. So no one can command you ever again.”
“And you can make that happen for me?”
A brief silence.
And in that silence, Ernan understood everything he meant.
“Hillen Cargill is my subordinate.”
As the twin star leading the search party with Daphner Philian, Hillen’s reputation had risen even higher.
Hilderan’s national hero. His name alone carried immense power.
“If he rescues you, it’ll rise even more. If you and Hillen Cargill combine your strength, no one will dare treat you carelessly.”
“But that’s as far as you can take me. The rest, I’ll have to handle myself, right?”
“You really are quick to understand. I like that.”
“What kind of compliment is that?”
“You don’t need to become the king for this to work. You just need to have enough power that even a king cannot meddle with you.”
What difference was there between that and being the king?
Especially when she was already the designated crown princess?
“After that, returning to the Tower again would be quite entertaining.”
“I suppose you’d like it even more if I bring back the Spirit King?”
“Most likely.”
Ernan laughed quietly. The gloom clouding her mood finally began to lift.
She’d been stubborn, but she knew.
If she didn’t go, this joyful place could disappear forever.
“For the next princess you kidnap, please choose someone tall and physically strong.”
“Why?”
“The last one left is the Giant of Hell, isn’t it?”
“No, I was asking why you assume I’ll kidnap another princess.”
“Is that not the plan?”
“···Well, it is true, but still.”
A princess was always better than a prince, after all.
“What about your sister?”
“Elena is a mage.”
“She doesn’t have to be a literal giant.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Ernan nodded thoughtfully.
“Still, it’s basic discipline. If we can’t get one later, that’s unfortunate, but giving up now would be wrong.”
“···I’ll try.”
“Then good. I’ll accept your request too, Demon King.”
She stood up and brushed the dirt from her skirt.
“I’ll go. If I don’t, the Tower I’ve come to love might disappear.”
“Wise decision.”
“But in return—”
Ernan approached him with a smiling gaze.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m the first.”
“What?”
Her eyes glittered under the mana lantern fixed to the ceiling.
Her breath trembled slightly as she whispered:
“The first person you reached out to.”
“The first person who ever took your hand.”
The first princess.
So—
“If you forget me, I won’t let it slide.”
“Promises exist to be kept.”
Understood?
Her eyes, full of possessive desire, stared straight into Berze’s.
Without even realizing it, Berze’s head nodded.